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Depression and anxiety affects many people in the United States and anyone can fall into their deadly grips. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) about 25% of US adults struggle with depression, anxiety or some combination of both. What is even more staggering is 50 to 60% of people living with depression and/or anxiety receive no mental health services.

How are depression and anxiety similar? According to the author Laurie Myers depression and anxiety share a psychological component. This simply means both mental health conditions often creates isolation and prevents people’s ability to be in the present moment. This doesn’t mean there aren’t any differences because anxiety and depression differ greatly. The nice thing about this article is that it does highlight the commonalities between them thus healing approaches are beneficial for both.

According to Meyer’s mindfulness techniques helps decrease negative self-talk. Mindfulness tools help center people to become aware of their thoughts and rumination patterns. Another useful tool is having clients build a family tree that promotes exploration how these two conditions have a genetic component to them. This is helpful for people experiencing intense shame around their mental illness. Helping our clients understand that they can take their power back by implementing a healthy regime (diet, exercise, getting enough sleep). Having this regiment helps the brain regulate emotions.

Neurocounseling helps to show the link between the brain structure and chemical processes that influence emotions. Exciting new Studies on the brain is showing a frontal asymmetry and how this affects both anxiety and depression. Out of these studies they have shown that the left frontal lobe is often associated with positive effect and when it is malfunctioning depression can manifest. Having an excessive active right frontal lobe creates anxiety. According to Meyers humans tend to have negative thoughts. Understanding the struggle with negative thoughts and normalizing them to our clients often have positive effects. Teaching muscle relaxation techniques to clients who suffer from anxiety is helpful due to the link between the body and brain. If the body is tense this signals to the brain there is something wrong thus creating anxious feelings.

Meyers concludes by concentrating on women and depression. She feels counselors should understand that there is a gender difference when it comes to depression and anxiety. Meyers believes that women often can suffer through life transition events. Women often transition from being a woman into being mothers and for some this is considered a loss. Another area of awareness that Myers encourages is the link between pregnancy and depression. Postpartum depression is widely known but what isn’t widely known is that women can become depressed during pregnancy. Women with a history of depression are more likely to develop pregnancy related to depression.

Source: Treating Depression and Anxiety by Laurie Meyers. Counseling today August 2015. Page 27 – 33.

Dictionary.com defines self-esteem as “a realistic respect for or favorable impression of oneself.” This act of valuing oneself is incredibly important in the development of happiness. Being able to self-regulate wards off depression and can help support emotional and physical health. Self-esteem is how our narrative voice, which informs us on who we are/what we value/who we can love/what we deserve/what we can or can’t do with our lives.

There are two main sources of low self-esteem (LSE) one is situational and the second one is having a negative internal dialogue of ourselves. A situational example is enduring a breakup of some form. This can severely affect one’s view of desirability which plays into our sense of self-esteem. The second source is the inability to let go of the internal dialogue, which is referred to as the “inner critic.” The inner critic can turn a mistake into an affirmation you are indeed worthless. This one is more insidious and difficult to overcome but it is not hopeless. This type has shown by some researchers to be a factor in the development of depression and anxiety.

Self-esteem begins at childhood as we begin sensing if we are liked by feedback that comes from others. This feedback can either increase or decrease our self-esteem. Children with healthy boundaries have an understanding of what is expected of them, and have a structure on how to behave within all types of systems. This allows children to accurately predict how others will view them. But children who get mixed messages and/or live in a chaotic environment often learn not to trust themselves thus negatively affecting their esteem. According to Brene Brown, “family messages die hard. Any many times they are very insidious.” Individuals suffering from LSE can be susceptible to internalizing outside criticism. Research measuring levels of stress hormone cortisol have found those with LSE often have higher levels cortisol.

This doesn’t mean that LSE doesn’t have fluidity to it. It can be moved from LSE to higher levels of self-esteem. Check out my services page to see how I go about helping my clients overcome LSE. The overall message from this article is individuals suffering from LSE have to remember they are not alone. The struggle to be accepted by others and oneself is a human condition.

The other thing that is important to remember when working through issues about self-esteem is that the more comfortable you are without being avoidant the higher probability of increasing your self-esteem. After all one cannot “…esteem a person you don’t know…”

Source: Quieting the inner critic, http://ct.counseling.org/2014/01/quieting-the-inner-critic/

A STAR is born at least according to a psychologist named Jonathan Cheek. STAR is an acronym that stands for Social, Thinking, Anxious, and Restrained. Cheek has discovered that introverts are actually on a spectrum and believes they are often misunderstood. Introverts fight the stigma of having a behavioral defect due to a central idea that if you’re not social then there is something wrong with you. Others think that they are introspective and thoughtful, but what if none of these categories captures you? How stifling it would feel for them.

Each category describes a different type of introvert. Social introvert refers to individuals who prefer socializing with smaller groups as opposed to larger groups. They are also known to crave solitude but not out of shyness or anxiousness. Thinkers have no aversion to social gatherings and are marked as being thoughtful, self-reflective, and introspective type. Anxious introvert do seek solitude because they fight feelings of awkwardness and being around people triggers feelings of self-consciousness. The rumination behavior that goes with this type of introvert can become a barrier for them. Finally restrained introverts are reserved and often think before they speak.

Cheek’s model expands the definition of what it means to be an introvert. I applaud his work because I believe every category needs expansion. In my practice clients often find new layers to their concerns or awareness.  The more one can add to the category of introspection the richer our lives become.

Source: http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/06/apparently-there-are-four-kinds-of-introversion.html

A recent study has shown that living in high altitudes has made people 30% more likely to commit suicide. Renshaw, the leading researcher, believes one of the reasons for this is lack of oxygen. As oxygen decreases so do levels of serotonin and affect the uptake of dopamine. These are two neurotransmitters that relay signals between neurons and other cells. This in turn increases the likelihood of becoming suicidal. People can adapt to high-altitude living but women in particular are more sensitive due to a lower supply of serotonin. Those that have a pre-disposition to depression or anxiety are more likely to develop suicide tendency as well.

Source: http://mic.com/articles/104096/there-s-a-suicide-epidemic-in-utah-and-one-neuroscientist-thinks-he-knows-why

The purpose of my blog is to share my thoughts, ideas, and/or articles with a central theme of mental health. In the era of smart phones, twitter, and various other social media it seems only natural for clinicians to utilize mass media. Very few of us have time to dig through the various articles out there that deal with new interventions, redefining diagnosis, or simply a fun fact. My blog is centered around my own thoughts therefor I encourage you to read the article for yourself. After all you never know what hidden facts I overlooked or simply didn’t have time to include it in my blog.

A little about me, I am a license professional counselor (LPC) with a focus on individual, couples, and families. Please visit the about me page to find out more information. I am looking forward to exploring resources out there and sharing them with you.